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This study explores the nature of globalisation and patriarchy and analyses their consequences for education and in particular the education of women and girls. This thesis argues that a significant contributory factor in the slow progress in addressing the gender inequalities in education in developing countries such as Zambia is the lack of attention to the combined effects of globalisation and patriarchy on girls’ education. This study argues that globalisation and patriarchy together impact negatively on the education of women and girls, and supports that argument with reference to supra-national and transnational policy developments, as well as an analysis of national policy for the education of girls in Zambia, and case studies of girl’s’ experiences of education in two contrasting local settings in Zambia. Globalisation is associated with an increase in social and economic inequality due to its tendency to obscure equity and social justice issues in its pursuit of establishing markets in almost all spheres of life. Market forms are pre-occupied with profit, hence pushing equality concerns to the fringes. Patriarchy takes advantage of globalisation’s tendency to obscure equity and social justice considerations to reassert itself in its uncompromising oppression of women. Therefore, globalisation and patriarchy play a significant role in perpetuating gender inequalities in education. This study posits that any attempt to resolve gender inequalities in education should take into account the impact of globalisation and patriarchy on girls’ education. Although education alone will not ensure women’s empowerment, the study considers it as very important to combine with other factors to bring about an end to women’s oppression.

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Group supervision is used for support, education and/or monitoring. Despite the potential value of these elements for school staff, it is rarely practised. This mixed methods research, from a critical realist perspective, explored the use of Solution Circles to structure staff supervision groups in three schools. Five circles were run in each school, involving thirty-one participants, eighteen of whom contributed data. Thirteen staff trained as facilitators. The self-efficacy, resilience and anxiety levels of the staff taking part were not found to be significantly different as a result of the intervention. However, a small effect size was noted for self-efficacy, perhaps worthy of further investigation in the context of the small sample size. Thematic analysis of participant feedback (gathered during the last circle, which ran as a Focus Group) indicated the following mechanisms as affecting the value of Solution Circles for staff supervision groups: the structure of the sessions; aspects linked to the groups meeting a ‘need to talk’; elements which helped participants to ‘feel like a team’; and, school context factors. Semi-structured interview data from six facilitators indicated that the structure of the circles, individual characteristics of facilitators, the provision of support for facilitators, and elements of the wider school context, were all mechanisms which affected the facilitation of the programme. Further research might implement elements of these mechanisms and measure their impact.

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This longitudinal, qualitative, practitioner research study investigated the metacognitive strategies that twelve adult, work-based learners studying on a foundation degree used to undertake academic written assignments. The research lens of complexity and transformational theory provided a unique conceptual and methodological framework to explore the learning experiences of the participants over the two year period of their degree. Data were gathered from ‘feedforward’ tutorials with the learners and their assessment grades. The study articulates the challenges, evident in the learners’ narratives, as struggles. These struggles were aligned with concepts of emergence within a complexity framework and a key finding from the data is the importance of these in relation to transformational learning. Where transformational learning was evident this extended beyond the cognitive, to include emotional and social dimensions. Powerful emotional responses surrounded the struggles experienced by the learners. The study focused on professional, personal and academic identities and on the interconnectedness of nested realities where each interacts dynamically for these learners. Concepts of self-belief, self-efficacy and agency were central to this investigation into the metacognitive awareness of adult learners where motivation and purpose for learning presented as critical factors for undertaking the Foundation Degree. Academic writing strategies and the individual approaches to undertaking written assignments were analysed to explore implications for practice within universities to meet the complex learning needs of non-traditional, adult learners. The findings have informed a proposed model for an architype tutor who is specifically able to provide the particular conditions to foster transformational learning and who addresses equity and power between the adult, work-based learner and the academy.

This study investigates an approach to create a more radical agenda setting for innovation in the high-tech environment of the Future Internet by practitioners involved in development of parts of the Future Internet meta-agenda. This is contextualised with policy objectives and actions at a high level (national or supra-national) institution such as the European Commission (EC). The meta-agenda for the Future Internet is presented as a radical, pervasive, self-intelligent global technology infrastructure. However, much of the progress within EC research framework programmes has tended to be incremental or horizontal expansion (broadly the same level) in its nature which in effect contributes more to the production of knowledge, rather than facilitating radical forms of innovation. Without an increased rate of progress in radical innovation, the meta-goals set by the EC and its cluster groups will become increasingly difficult to attain. Such ‘futures’ research demands engagement with, and enquiry of, ‘Future Internet’ communities, including technology, academic and key corporate contributors. The purpose of the second objective is to create a new model of understanding of the powers of influence for strategic agenda setting and delivery appropriate to national or supra-national innovation research policy. The first strategic objective is a model or framework of understanding. This is to develop a strategic model for the understanding of the requirements in terms of process, players and relationships necessary for research agenda setting, and thereby identify possibilities for policy implementation approach in supra-national (or national) bodies such as the European Commission (top down approach). The challenge here is to create a better understanding of how to achieve radical or strategic change in major policy or meta-agenda objectives. Core research questions posed sequentially in the first strategic objective, to virtual professional community (VPC) groups were: 1. What key broad areas are barriers Future Internet (FI) adoption? 2. What are the key structural knowledge areas for next stage development? 3. What are the key areas for short/med term next steps? First strategic objective research questions covered in the structured questionnaire were then rated by practitioner participant’s assessment of the achievability and impact of the top issues emerging from the VPC groups in order to assess a combined ranking. The top ranked issues formed the innovation agenda. Core research questions posed sequentially in the second strategic objective, to (VPC) groups were: 1. What are the influences from a national or supranational body (e.g. the EU/EC) in achieving the strategic goals or meta-agenda goals of a major high-tech concept such as the Future Internet? 2. Map the issues to areas of activity, power or excellence to form the components of a model of understanding with potential for use by relevant strategic management or leadership. Second strategic objective research questions covered in the VPC groups were then cognitively developed by the author into a sense making framework and a conceptual model of understanding.

Professional development is an important factor in developing teacher and leadership professional practice. Well considered contracting of professional development results in improvements in participants’ performance. Effective professional development provision comes from analysing training needs to identify deficiencies in performance. Ineffective contracting processes, which do not analyse need accurately, result in provision that does not target the required performance. This research project considered the commissioning of professional development and reasons for poor vendor performance. After setting the scene for the project I looked at the extant research surrounding the issue of professional development and performance improvement. Then I considered the research methodology used in this research and applied that research methodology to my workplace practice to analyse the issue of poor vendor performance. Next I considered all of the research to arrive at findings and recommendations for professional development for principals and wider school workforces. Next I recommended models for principals, wider school workforces and the commissioning of professional development, before finally reflecting on my learning and professional practice. My first research question asked ‘What are the reasons for poor vendor performance in the context of professional development for principals and vice principals and what strategies can I put in place to prevent their re-occurrence?’ My research findings indicated a weakness in the contracting process, particularly a lack of specificity in occupational skill standards. My findings showed that training needs’ analysis was not performed against a set standard but against curriculum needs. As a result, vendors’ professional development reflected content rather than the performance criteria required for competent performance. My second research question asked ‘Are there models of professional development that can effectively deliver professional development in the context of school improvement? Why and how they might transform learning into practice?’ My findings showed that professional development based on training needs produced approaches to professional development that were more effective in meeting those needs and improving performance. To establish the reasons for poor vendor performance, extensive research, using Soft System Methodology (SSM) was used to consider the worldview of existing professional development. Models of professional development developed in an abstract context were compared to the real world to consider the most feasible and desirable models. This study concluded by producing nine best practice models of professional development for each of the wider school workforce positions. My third research question asked ‘With what consequence can researching poor vendor performance and models of professional development enhance my learning and professional practice?’ I arrived at three sets of recommendations, one each for principals, wider school workforces and the commissioning of professional development. The latter is the most useful for my work role in commissioning professional development for nine wider school workforce positions being introduced into schools. My findings indicated that professional development models that were specific, customised and targeted performance that met standards, were the most effective, particularly when delivered in the learning environment. This report is written from the practitioner/researcher point of view, written in the first person and completed as a doctoral project that is also designed to inform my work and my professional learning. This report reflects my project work and my resultant learning.

The relationship between headteachers and inspection is complex, especially for those headteachers who inspect. Since Ofsted, the government inspection agency, started its work in 1992 there have been few headteachers inspecting schools in England. However, soon they will comprise a significant proportion of the school inspection workforce. Knowledge and understanding about headteachers who inspect is limited, and their role in inspection is under-theorised. We do not normally hear the voice of inspectors, and even less about the headteachers amongst them and the thesis explores how a small sample of headteachers interprets their agency as inspectors. The study is informed by, and contributes to, the literatures on the developments within the English education system, the debate about the inspection of schools, headteachers’ changing roles, boundaries, identities, and system leadership. The approach to the thesis is qualitative. The study accesses headteacher inspectors’ views through 12 semi-structured interviews. Data collection and analysis spanned a five-year period which pre-dated the current drive to co-opt more headteachers as school inspectors. The analysis of the interview transcripts was through a process of induction. Several themes emerged from this inductive analysis of the data, the key ones being: what being inspected was like for these headteachers, why they chose to inspect and their experiences of inspecting, their relations with the teachers of the schools they inspect, especially their headteachers, with other inspectors, their governors and local authorities, and what they learn by inspecting. While the headteachers sampled vocalise the benefits of inspection and their part in it, they also express some ambivalence and this has implications for policy. The inductive analysis was then related to current developments in relation to system leadership. The key contribution of the thesis is to throw light on some of the implications of headteachers inspecting. It also raises the potential for headteacher inspectors, as a cadre, to contribute to the leadership of the English school system.